A man driving to work in the early morning hours of October 2, 2015, reported a total engine failure of his vehicle followed by a sighting of a very large, unknown light.

The unnamed witness told the National UFO Reporting Center (NUFORC) that he was driving to work at 4:36 am when his 1999 minivan “abruptly turned off.”

The vehicle appeared to have no power when he repeatedly tried to restart the engine. That’s when he noticed the appearance of a large, motionless light overhead that was “partially obscured by light clouds.”

The witness stepped out of his disabled vehicle and took a photo of the light with his smartphone. As he tried to take a video of the light, it glowed brighter and larger, “to 4 or 5 times the size of a full moon, before rapidly vanishing.”

“This light created no sound, no heat, and no wind. It did not pulse, flash, or change colors. It merely appeared, grew larger and brighter, and then disappeared”, reported the witness.

He searched the sky for the light for another 3-4 minutes, without spotting it again. The witness got back into his vehicle, which started and functioned normally. The witness reported no lasting damage to the vehicle or any devices he was carrying.

Peter Davenport of the NUFORC interviewed the witness and stated that he seemed “quite eloquent, rational, and sober-minded.”

The witness made no mention of the moon in the report published by NUFORC, which may lead to a prosaic explanation.

The moon was at waning gibbous with a fairly bright illumination of 75% on October 2. It reached meridian passing ("high noon" of the moon) less than an hour after the time of the reported sighting in Texas, and it is possible that the bright light was moonlight intensifying as it filtered through the variable cloud cover.

If it the reported light was indeed the moon, the only reason it could vanish as the witness stated, is if thicker cloud clover suddenly blew over and obscured its light.

Original witness report:

I was traveling southbound on Mopac (aka Tx Loop 1), about to exit for HWY 360 Capitol of Texas. It was 4:36 am when my 1999 Brown Chevy Astro abruptly turned off. I attempted to turn the key but had zero power. That's when a large light, partially obscured by light clouds, appeared and remained motionless. I stepped out of my vehicle and took a picture with my smartphone. I attempted to access the video recorder, but the light increased its intensity and grew to 4 or 5 times the size of a full moon, before rapidly vanishing. This light created no sound, no heat, and no wind. It did not pulse, flash, or change colors. It merely appeared, grew larger and brighter, and then disappeared. I remained outside of my vehicle for 3 or 4 more minutes, but the light did not reappear. I got back in my car and it started. I have no damage to the car, or any other devices that were with me at the time.